Decolonising tertiary psychology programs in Australia: privileging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ voices
Objective The Australian Indigenous Psychology Education Program has paved the way for Indigenising and decolonising psychology programs. While Indigenisation and decolonisation of psychology programs are not yet consistent, exemplar initiatives have emerged within recent times. This paper showcases...
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Taylor & Francis Group
2025-12-01
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| Series: | Australian Journal of Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/00049530.2025.2544928 |
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| author | Chontel Gibson Joanna Alexi Pat Dudgeon Cammi Murrup-Stewart Stacey McMullen Darcey Decke Jeneva Ohan Amanda Taylor Peter Gill Monica Thielking Belle Selkirk |
| author_facet | Chontel Gibson Joanna Alexi Pat Dudgeon Cammi Murrup-Stewart Stacey McMullen Darcey Decke Jeneva Ohan Amanda Taylor Peter Gill Monica Thielking Belle Selkirk |
| author_sort | Chontel Gibson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objective The Australian Indigenous Psychology Education Program has paved the way for Indigenising and decolonising psychology programs. While Indigenisation and decolonisation of psychology programs are not yet consistent, exemplar initiatives have emerged within recent times. This paper showcases these exemplars, providing details about the “how to” privilege Indigenous knowledges and decolonising practices.Method A qualitative research paradigm was used to highlight multiple descriptive case studies. An Aboriginal Participatory Action Research approach honoured Indigenous leadership and governance throughout the process, which supported the use of yarning as the data collection method. The methodological approach illustrated the importance of the psychology discipline supporting epistemological justice via the inclusion of Indigenous research methodologies.Results The five case studies provided practical strategies and actions that other psychology education providers, and indeed other higher education providers, can use to decolonise discipline programs. Examples of enablers included Indigenous leadership in curricula design and student support within the psychology discipline challenges. Examples of challenges included a lack of resources and epistemological racism.Conclusions This work reaffirms the call for urgent prioritisation to support, embed, and expand Indigenous knowledges and decolonising praxis within psychology and indeed, across broader health disciplines, in Australia and around the world. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-bde6f9909aa94f5bac8e05fd3d8bc9b7 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0004-9530 1742-9536 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Australian Journal of Psychology |
| spelling | doaj-art-bde6f9909aa94f5bac8e05fd3d8bc9b72025-08-26T01:15:56ZengTaylor & Francis GroupAustralian Journal of Psychology0004-95301742-95362025-12-0177110.1080/00049530.2025.2544928Decolonising tertiary psychology programs in Australia: privileging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ voicesChontel Gibson0Joanna Alexi1Pat Dudgeon2Cammi Murrup-Stewart3Stacey McMullen4Darcey Decke5Jeneva Ohan6Amanda Taylor7Peter Gill8Monica Thielking9Belle Selkirk10School of Indigenous Studies, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, AustraliaSchool of Indigenous Studies, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, AustraliaSchool of Indigenous Studies, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, AustraliaSchool of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria,AustraliaSchool of Psychological Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, AustraliaSchool of Indigenous Studies, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, AustraliaSchool of Psychological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, AustraliaSchool of Psychology, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, AustraliaInstitute for Health and Sport, Victoria University, Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaSchool of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, AustraliaSchool of Indigenous Studies, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, AustraliaObjective The Australian Indigenous Psychology Education Program has paved the way for Indigenising and decolonising psychology programs. While Indigenisation and decolonisation of psychology programs are not yet consistent, exemplar initiatives have emerged within recent times. This paper showcases these exemplars, providing details about the “how to” privilege Indigenous knowledges and decolonising practices.Method A qualitative research paradigm was used to highlight multiple descriptive case studies. An Aboriginal Participatory Action Research approach honoured Indigenous leadership and governance throughout the process, which supported the use of yarning as the data collection method. The methodological approach illustrated the importance of the psychology discipline supporting epistemological justice via the inclusion of Indigenous research methodologies.Results The five case studies provided practical strategies and actions that other psychology education providers, and indeed other higher education providers, can use to decolonise discipline programs. Examples of enablers included Indigenous leadership in curricula design and student support within the psychology discipline challenges. Examples of challenges included a lack of resources and epistemological racism.Conclusions This work reaffirms the call for urgent prioritisation to support, embed, and expand Indigenous knowledges and decolonising praxis within psychology and indeed, across broader health disciplines, in Australia and around the world.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/00049530.2025.2544928Decolonising psychology educationcultural responsivenessAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoplessocial and emotional wellbeing; case studies |
| spellingShingle | Chontel Gibson Joanna Alexi Pat Dudgeon Cammi Murrup-Stewart Stacey McMullen Darcey Decke Jeneva Ohan Amanda Taylor Peter Gill Monica Thielking Belle Selkirk Decolonising tertiary psychology programs in Australia: privileging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ voices Australian Journal of Psychology Decolonising psychology education cultural responsiveness Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples social and emotional wellbeing; case studies |
| title | Decolonising tertiary psychology programs in Australia: privileging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ voices |
| title_full | Decolonising tertiary psychology programs in Australia: privileging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ voices |
| title_fullStr | Decolonising tertiary psychology programs in Australia: privileging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ voices |
| title_full_unstemmed | Decolonising tertiary psychology programs in Australia: privileging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ voices |
| title_short | Decolonising tertiary psychology programs in Australia: privileging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ voices |
| title_sort | decolonising tertiary psychology programs in australia privileging aboriginal and torres strait islander peoples voices |
| topic | Decolonising psychology education cultural responsiveness Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples social and emotional wellbeing; case studies |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/00049530.2025.2544928 |
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